Say what you want about Vampire Weekend, but the guys know how to write a solid album. But don’t take my word for it, the strongest testament to that it the people who show up their concerts.

There wasn’t a soul in the house last night that didn’t know the words to at least two songs minimum. Minimum. Normally you’re lucky to have a crowd that knows the chorus to your single or can quickly pick up how you’re supposed to clap. But nope; this crowd new the words and wanted to sing along at all the right moments.

Case in point: their song “One (Blake’s Got a New Face).” When Ezra said that the next one was a sing along, I heard a few people around me give off a muffled “yesss.” Then when he sang “Blake’s got a new face,” the entire crowd immediately yelled it back at him. My girlfriend wondered if he gives the explanation at every show since, obviously, most people who attend had to buy their tickets early and are therefore probably big fans. In case you were wondering, the answer’s yes. In the past year I’ve seen Vampire Weekend four times (fifth at Monolith this weekend) and he’s always approached each crowd as if they were likely unfamiliar with the band. That’s either a holdover habit from the band’s days as nobodies (which, believe it or not, they were not too long ago) or just a great, unassuming attitude. It’s like if you met a celebrity and he or she introduced themselves to you. I mean, duh, you know who they are, but it’s still nice of them not to assume so.

But back to Vampire Weekend.

The set was great, marred by sound problems but completely great. It was, predictably short however. We got their new song “White Sky”, which has received so many views on its various youtube incarnations that it’s practically not new any more. Still, it’s a really fun song. I was hoping they’d pull out their Fleetwood Mac or Tom Petty covers, but it wasn’t to be. We got a one song encore with the last unplayed song from their record: “Walcott.”

In the end, I’m glad I went. I was thinking of taking a night off from shows, but I wasn’t able to resist. It was a great show that my girlfriend and I both enjoyed (which is rare) and it left me eagerly anticipating Monolith.